The story may be full of basic shoujo plot events (A trip to Okinawa! Romantic rivals!), but it lets its characters come to their own emotional conclusions.
Jul 30, 2021 • Subscribe
More like this
Cat-Eyed Boy: The Perfect Edition GN 1
Cat-Eyed Boy combines horror with an understanding of how people deemed to be Other by societies are isolated and ignored, using that to ponder what would happen if…
PODCAST: Sonny Boy 1-3
I SAY I SAY I SAY I SAYNo, this is not the first anime to star washed up cartoon rooster Foghorn Leghorn, this is the pan-dimensional survival series…
Black Rose Alice (GN 1-3)
There are a lot of vampires in shoujo manga. This is just a simple fact. Poke around your local Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million and yo...
Persona 4 Arena GN 1-3
Persona 4 Arena gives the spotlight to Yosuke and he is forced figure out if he has really changed or not—and in the process step out of Yu's…
Character 4 Area GN 1-3 Assessment
Persona 4 Arena is based on the 2012 fighting game of the same name. However, it's simply not possible to do a one-to-one adaptation of that game. Instead…
Apple Children of Aeon GN 1-3
Yukinojo was left as an infant on the porch of a temple, and he's never felt as if he truly belonged in his home. A story that spans…
Display it with Science! Transformers Anti-Gravity Tensegrity Base Optimus Prime Set
I’m not really sure when tensegrity structures and consumer goods started to become a thing, but it looks like the Transformers brand is joining the fad with its…
Asadora! GN 3
The plot may be thickening in this volume, but it's in the same way that instant pudding thickens in the fridge: in other words, it's just sitting there.
Whisper Me a Love Song GN 1-3
What does it mean to “be in love” or to “fall in love?” That question is the beating heart of Eku Takeshima's yuri series Whisper Me a Love…
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (GN 1-3)
Previous to the last couple of years, just about any anime and manga fan you could find would tell you the same thing: JoJo's Bizarre Adve...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
Papa and Daddy's Home Cooking GN 1-3
Toyota's tale establishes that fathers adjusting to single parenthood and realizing that even if they don't feel like adequate parents, they'll ultimately be just fine, no matter what…
Centaurs GN 1
Dark historical fantasy doesn't get much better than this.
MAO GN 1
Takahashi's latest seems to borrow elements from her previous popular works, but does it add anything new to her tried and true recipe?
Life GN 1
Two decades after its initial release, Life presents a viciously recognizable picture of the social hellscape that middle and high school can be.
Tista GN 1
Before there was SPY x FAMILY there was Tista. Tatsuya Endō's first serialized work shares some themes with his latest – heroine Tista Lone is an orphan who
Helck GN 1
A human makes a play for demon king, stating he hates humankind just as much as a demon should. He just has to convince Red Vamirio, and her…
Tista GN 1
From the creator of SpyxFamily comes a difficult story, replete with themes of what we owe those who "save" us and just how much power any one person…
MonsTABOO GN 1
Take a bit of social commentary on twisted, corrupt adults, add in schoolgirls who use monsters as transformed weapons to fight them, and then throw in a game…
Dandadan GN 1
A lot of manga have bawdy humor and fail, but Dandadan manages to make it work by displaying its heart alongside its horror and humor.
Ayashimon GN 1
This volume is packed with everything from yakuza action to twisted backstories to humans against monsters. Does this manga from the creator of Hell’s Paradise manage to bring…
SINoALICE GN 1
This manga adaptation of the popular mobile game gambles on a risky decision: to deliberately confuse its readers on what's real and what's just a dream.
Higehiro GN 1
Is there actually some insightful character stuff present that looks like it can take full advantage of this arrangement? The answer is surprisingly yes for a good chunk…
Ayashimon GN 1
Most of us have probably tried it at some point. What “it” means varies, but the definition is always “something that works in my favorite story.” Whether
Barbarities GN 1
Barbarities' first volume is an interesting opening to a political BL tale. The politics and the side romance may be a little more intriguing than Joel and Adam…
Semelparous GN 1
It feels more like the book is interested in gratuitous girl-on-girl groping than in exploring or creating a relationship.
Happy Gravity Rushoween
Regular visitors to this site might have noticed certain subtle hints that I like the Gravity Rush games. How much do I like them? Well, I ...
Blue Box GN 3
Regardless of where the romantic component of the story goes, if it continues to develop its theme of straightforward dedication with believably emotional moments, I definitely will find…
Life GN 2-3
Life often toes the line in terms of going too far. However, it remains a relevant wake-up call about an experience that too many kids have. Read with…
Sakamoto Days GN 1
A retired assassin finds domestic bliss and opens a convenience store, but the crime world isn't ready to let Sakamoto go.
Mame Coordinate GN 1
This manga about modeling tries to balance the glam with the less than savory aspect of the job, but is the problem really its protagonist?
Tesla Note GN 1
Because the anime adaptation made some questionable artistic choices, it's worth mentioning that the manga is much more attractive on the art front.
Otherside Picnic GN 1
Otherside Picnic creates a creepy world that gives a sense of vast, unexplored space and dangers lurking just below your line of sight.
Dark Gathering GN 1
I mean it when I say I wasn't expecting to be terrified from reading Dark Gathering. This surprise isn't a downside. That this story was able to genuinely…
Yuri Espoir GN 1
Yuri Espoir is an odd combination of froth and sadness. The way that the world seems hellbent on crushing Kokoro under the burden of false heteronormativity is undeniably…
Afro Samurai GN 1
Striking art can't make up for a barebones story with little narrative or characterization to chew on.
Captain Corinth GN 1
At this point in genre saturation, a space soldier being dropped into a medieval fantasy planet feels positively revelatory.
Great Pretender GN 1
The story of the Great Pretender is one of a good person trying desperately to be a bad guy in a world where everyone is out for themselves.
Hello, Melancholic! GN 1
This is by and large an extremely familiar story – but that doesn't mean it can't be a good one if told well, and through this first volume,…
Heart Gear GN 1
Sci-fi fans will find a lot to love in this Isaac Asimov-inspired story about an artificial lifeform becoming human through its interactions with a human child
Sakura's Dedication GN 1
Despite it's title, this manga is less an aggressive pursuit and more about a guy who is very concerned about making his new girlfriend comfortable around him.
Kageki Shoujo!! GN 1
Like its heroine, Kageki Shojo!! is just getting started but shows enormous promise.
Lovely Muco! GN 1
There's a satisfying simplicity in following the life of Muco and her owner.
Kemono Jihen GN 1
Kimono Jihen is a combination of folklore, fantasy, and horror. It's got a beating heart underneath the grimness and this volume is a solid start to the series.
Seaside Stranger GN 1
It's just as much about how Shun comes to understand that he deserves to be happy and that Mio truly does love him for (rather than in spite…
Choujin X GN 1
From the same creative mind that brought us the hit manga series Tokyo Ghoul comes another rather dark outing from creator Sui Ishida. If you were a fan...
Tephlon Funk GN 1
Inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Spike Lee films, Tephlon Funk is a lot, but I think that ultimately that's a good thing.
Usotoki Rhetoric GN 1
Set in 1926, this rural detective tale follows a teen sleuth who can tell when people are lying.
Nana & Kaoru GN 1
BDSM-curious should check out Nana & Kaoru, a manga that respects the realities of its subject matter (and is pretty hot).
Rainbow Days GN 1
If the anime failed to hold your attention, you'll want to check out the source material for a much more entertaining read.
Dai Dark GN 1
From the creator of Dorohedoro comes a new series about a man, his supposedly magic bones, and the out-of-this-world characters who try to obtain them.